Susan Glaspell - "Trifles"

I think that the proposed production choices for Trifles would be extremely interesting as far as going towards a more symbolic representation of the text. The very idea of specific stage detail could be argued to be a 'trifle' itself. Since none of the dialogue would be changed, it could be argued that there would be no distractions for the audience to detract from the extremely specific and plot-motivated wording, especially in the interactions of the two women. Much of the story is built on suspicion and tone of the actors, so I can absolutely see the merit in removing detail as a means of keeping the audience's attention firmly on the descriptions of the life the audience must build for the alleged murderess. I can especially appreciate the simplicity of this production in relation to the box containing the dead bird. To make the "pretty little box" a plain, black box would force the audience to consider the care she must have felt for the bird in order to feel the need to bury it in the first place, and to feel the need to shroud it and place it in a type of coffin.

However, speaking as someone who had already read this play and was already a fan of the script itself, I cannot say that I don't think these production choices would detract from the overall level of connection to the audience. Though the story is one of understandable relation throughout history, I believe that the era and specifically the regional location of this story is incredibly important in relating to how the women behave towards the men, especially since in that era and region the idea of the Sheriff being "the Law" was incredibly accurate and for the two ladies to knowingly obstruct their process was incredibly bold. The idea of Trifles, I believe, is that the little things matter. Without the setting and props to provide the audience with a true sense of this woman's life, and how dreary her home really was, and how beautiful the box really was that she was going to give up to the earth for the sake of reverence for her bird, I believe that many audience members would find it hard or even impossible to connect fully to the desperation that lead up to her act of violence. Though the text is rich with descriptions, to rely solely on the dialogue to construct the nightmarish world of a woman in solitude even when in the company of her husband, would be a disservice to this play as well as to the actors attempting to work in such an unforgiving environment. In order to fully grasp this play, I believe that the only ambiguity should come from the moral 'grey'.